Scenic driving in England- The charming Chilterns

I love to see the summer beaming forth

And white wool sack clouds sailing to the north

I love to see the wild flowers come again

And mare blobs stain with gold the meadow drain

And water lillies whiten on the floods

Sonnet - John Clare, 1841

Since we reached Britain in 2009 the one thing me and my wife adore about this country is the magnificent countryside. You are never too far from a natural beauty spot in this country. We always try to experience what Britain's nature offers and we were never disappointed. This weekend we were looking for a spot near to our place. As we live in the north west of London, Chiltern hills seemed to be the most appropriate location for a day out . I have read about the beauty of the Chiltern hills from a variety of sources. It is an officially designated "Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty" in the South East of England.

The entire Chiltern area being a large stretch of 47 miles, we could only cover a small part of it in a day. The south west edge of Chilterns is the nearest to us, so the village of Marlow was our first destination. Marlow is a town on the shore of river Thames. It was home to many notable people including Mary Shelly, Jerome. K. Jerome and T.S Elliot.

We started at 2PM from our home. The plan was to cover around 50  miles with occational walks in the Chiltern countryside in approximately 4 hours so it is pretty evident that we won't get time to visit many attractions. It was a bright and sunny day, I love England landscape in these conditions. The trouble is that we don't get this climate very often in England, so these bright days are not to be missed. 

Marlow is a very nice town. The posh high street is probably an indication of the affluent people living in the town(eg. Andrew Strauss-the English cricket captain). Going further the high street we could see a church (All  Saints church) and then the fabulous suspension bridge in Marlow. Marlow bridge is the most prominent landmark in Marlow.  It just feels good to drive over this historic piece of engineering marvel. By the way, there is a suspension bridge(built by the British) near to my home town in India (The place is Punalur, Kerala, India) and legend says the locals were hesitant to use it until the engineer and family demonstrated the strength of the bridge by travelling in a boat beneath it, while elephants walked over it.

After crossing the bridge we turned back and drove towards a village called Hambleden. The route is through A4155 road until Mill Hill and then a right turn for the road towards Hambleden. We didn't stop at Hambleden and continued driving to Skirmett. The drive is very scenic with the beautiful Chiltern countryside showing off its hills and fields. The sheep, horses and the occasional deer sightings in the picturesque green carpeted landscape gave the whole setting a dramatic effect. However,the roads are narrow and twisty so due concentration is required all the time. We stopped in a couple of places where there is space to park and did short walks through the hills. This is a walkers paradise- the rolling hills, the greenery and the fresh air makes it very refreshing to walk here. Also there is plenty of apples and blueberries around if you fancy some occasional snacks. We also drove on a single track road called rotten row, though it was really fun we turned back soon as we realized there are many people walking on the road and we kind of felt disturbing them.

The Chiltern landscape

Deer sightings from Skirmett road

The Chiltern landscape

From Skirmett, on the way to Fingest  there was a lot of vehicles seen near to a pub called "The Frog". The rush in the pub was not typical for the village location, but later we found from the internet that the pub is very famous for its food. From the pub we went straight for another 5miles until A40 and turned right for West Wycombe. Just before West Wycombe high street, directions can be seen  for Hell-Fire caves. This underground caves were the meeting place for  the notorious Hell-Fire club and the rumour is that they used to practice immoral activities including sacrifices, Satan/demon worship and dealings with female "guests". There are many ghost stories surrounding the caves. However, we couldn't stop there as we didn't have enough time. The high street of West Wycombe also has some different old buildings.

From West Wycombe we travelled to see the Windmill in Lacey Green. Vehicles are not permitted near to the windmill, we walked to the windmill and took some photos. From there we continued driving along the pink road. The road goes through the darkness of the woods near to Great and Little Hampden. We took the turn towards Bryant's bottom and passed some narrow stretches of road which is virtually single track. After the woods we could see farm lands and many houses. After a place called Denner Hill, we came across a place where there is space to park on the road side. Both side of the road were farms and woods, we spent some time walking through the woods.

Windmill in Lacey Green

The woods along the Bryants Bottom road

Well, after 4 hours of sightseeing and driving finally we drove back to High Wycombe and then to our home. What an experience! We couldn't see the main attractions in any of the places (like the hell-fire caves), but the drive and the walk through the Chilterns were absolutely amazing. We have seen only a small part of Chiltern and we are in love with the place. Probably the best way to enjoy this magnificent countryside is by walk.

The route we have taken is given below

Map showing the route marked in blue